Updated Nov. 19, 2025 at 7:50 a.m. ET

Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, one of the faces of the Cincinnati Bengals franchise, was suspended without pay for one game on Monday for spitting in the face of Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey during Sunday's game.

Chase denied spitting on Ramsey, and he wasn't disciplined during the game by officials. But the league responded with the suspension after reviewing video of the incident.

On Tuesday, the NFL upheld the suspension after Chase's appeal was heard by Jordy Nelson, who was jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association. 

Here's the story from Steelers Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur. along with video of the scuffle between Chase and Ramsey.

Video Shows Bengals' Ja'Marr Chase Did Spit at Steelers' Jalen Ramsey Jalen Ramsey wasn't lying.

Losing one paycheck means close to $500,000 for Chase, one of the top receivers in the game. He is appealing the suspension, which will be heard by the league this week. The Bengals play the New England Patriots this Sunday.

Chase declined to comment on the events on Monday, but Bengals coach Zac Taylor did. He acknowledged the moment, but praised Chase for what he's done all year. Chase and Ramsey, a known trash-talker, were going back and forth at each other all day, and even had dual unsportsmanlike conduct penalties earlier in the game.

"Obviously what happened is crossing the line, and we can't have that," Taylor said. "I know he'll own up to that. I can't say enough positive things about Ja'Marr and think about the amount of situations people have tried to put him in and the way that he's always responded.

"We're not all perfect. We're going to make a mistake here and there, but I stand by Ja'Marr. I know it's an emotional situation. I know there's a lot of things going on there that lead to things like that. We'll just continue to move forward."